Friday, February 2, 2018

Listen: Living - "Cherub"


After releasing their debut self-titled EP in late November of 2016, Living, the moniker of Bergen based producer Lucas de Almeida turned full band, has been hard at work on their debut full length album. Though we got occasionally peaks and hints of its existence through a series of singles sporadically released last year ("Glory", "Path", and "Calyx"), "Cherub", the fourth single released since the EP, sees the forthcoming full length continue to further take shape.

Though Living have, with the aid of new member James Kalinoski, sought to expand their tropical-infused psych pop into a quicker paced sound much less reliant on loops and such, "Cherub" slows things down a bit while also engaging in a bit of Living's previous grounding in world music through the use of sitar. Given his own roots outside of his native Norway, the incorporation of atypical samples to fuel and color de Almeida's production is hardly a new endeavor but it is one that the band have relied on less heavily in their most recent output. "Cherub", with its sparse vocal and guitar introduction, sees de Almeida return to this well to expand his timbre palette and also reenlists bassist Nora Tårnesvik on backing vocals to form a delightful complement. "Cherub" also continues the band's efforts to ramp up the pop side of their electronic pop stylings through dynamic song composition. The track is still as richly layered as "Path" or "Calyx" but its shifting tempos and sections, separate it from Living's more consistently plotted tracks.



Absolutely, the debut full length album from Living, will be out later this year.

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